According to major-league sources, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria was intent on making Guillen his next manager. Talks, sources say, progressed to the point that there was discussion of executing a trade that would send Guillen, who has a year left on his contract, to the Marlins for 20-year-old outfielder Mike Stanton, who hit 22 home runs and knocked in 59 runs in just 100 games as a rookie this season.

But this? Trading a manager for someone who might be a perennial MVP candidate soon? Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

After Guillen met with chairman Jerry Reinsdorf late in the season and agreed to return to the Sox in 2011 — but not getting a desired extension — the Marlins talks died, sources say.

In the same story, Guillen — who is working for FOX TV again as an analyst during the World Series — said he wants to get past his differences with general manager Ken Williams and stay with the White Sox beyond 2011.

The Marlins are lucky Ozzie first wants to stay in Chicago, because the loss of Stanton would have been devastating. Managers are important, even indispensable. But you can always find a manager. Granted, Guillen is special.

Even if the White Sox never again raise the Commissioner's Trophy with him at the helm, The Ozzie Guillen Years will always be golden. As a leader of men, there are few better skippers in the major leagues. As a tactician, well, let's be nice and call him average. As a spokesman for the organization, he's pitch perfect.

His rants, while sometimes immature and occasionally misguided, are almost always comedy gold. Nobody breaks up the monotony of a baseball season like Ozzie.

And anybody who claims he or she cannot understand what Ozzie's saying because of his Venezuelan accent, it's your own fault. Try listening closer.

Ozzie's great; I hope they sign him to a 10-year contract extension. For the sake of the Marlins, I hope Stanton is an All-Star over the same period.